Reinfection of virus free mice with mouse mammary tumour virus

Lab Anim. 1989 Apr;23(2):133-7. doi: 10.1258/002367789780863646.

Abstract

BR6/Icrf mice carrying a milk-transmitted mammary tumour virus (MMTV) develop tumours after several pregnancies. If the mice are freed from MMTV, no tumours develop. In the experiments described in this paper, MMTV was reintroduced into MMTV-free mice by foster nursing, which was least effective if the pups were exposed to the virus only during the first week of life. Exposure for even a short time after that age led to a tumour incidence similar to that found in normally infected mice. Reinfection was also achieved by injection of MMTV-containing milk into weanling or pregnant mice, and was then transmitted naturally to the next generation.

MeSH terms

  • Aging / immunology
  • Animals
  • Animals, Suckling / microbiology
  • Cohort Studies
  • Disease Susceptibility
  • Female
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / epidemiology
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / microbiology
  • Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / transmission*
  • Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse / isolation & purification
  • Maternal-Fetal Exchange
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Inbred ICR
  • Milk / microbiology*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / microbiology
  • Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms